The source for Rice sports news

Conference USA Football 2020: Week 8 C-USA Roundup

By

Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 8.

Team Week 8 Result Week 9
Charlotte vs UTEP W, 38-28 at Duke
FAU at Marshall L, 20-9 vs UTSA
FIU Jacksonville St L, 19-10 vs Marshall
LA Tech at UTSA L, 27-26 vs UAB
Marshall vs FAU W, 20-9 at FIU
MTSU at Rice W, 40-34 OT — OFF —
North Texas — OFF —  — at UTEP
Rice vs MTSU L, 40-34 OT at Southern Miss
Southern Miss at Liberty L, 56-35 vs Rice
UAB vs Louisianna L, 24-20 at Louisiana Tech
UTEP at Charlotte L, 38-38 vs North Texas
UTSA vs LA Tech W, 27-26 at FAU
WKU vs Chattanooga W, 13-10 at BYU

Notable Week 8 results – Standings

This

Rice, the final Conference USA team that had yet to play a game, began their season on Saturday. The game was close throughout but will always be remembered for this excruciating finish.

And then there was one

Marshall proved too much for a shorthanded FAU team to handle as the Thundering Herd stayed undefeated, the only remaining C-USA team to hold such a distinction. Brendan Knox was dominant. Grant Wells was strong. The defense was suffocating. All in all, Marshall has deservedly entered the driver’s seat in the race for the conference crown.

Non-conference woes

Jacksonville State is a solid FCS program, but the ease with which they took care of FIU on Friday night was concerning. UAB blew a fourth-quarter lead against Louisiana. Liberty crushed a Jack Abraham-less Southern Miss squad. Western Kentucky escaped with a three-point win over Chattanooga. Yikes. At least WKU found a way to win. Not so much luck for the other squads in non-conference matchups.

Week 9 storylines

Doubling down on Louisiana State

UAB started off strong, but could find themselves playing from behind if they run into trouble on the road at Louisiana Tech next week. The Bulldogs have been up and down this season, but they’re going to score.

Not the best in the West

North Texas, UTEP and Rice sit at the bottom of the West division standings through Week 8. It’s hard to know exactly where to place the Owls after their bizarre opener, but a larger sample size of the Mean Green and Miners could make next week’s game a battle between squads seeking to avoid the bottom spot.

Third time’s the charm

BYU will look for the C-USA trifecta next week when they host Western Kentucky at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars defeated each of their first two Conference USA foes this year, downing Louisiana Tech 45-14 and UTSA 27-20. The Hilltoppers will have their work cut out for them. BYU is 6-0 on the season.

Rice Football Opponent Scouting Report

A weekly update on who the Owls will be playing this season including updates on key storylines, injuries and more.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2020: Overtime doinks doom Owls’ against MTSU

By

Rice football almost rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Middle Tennessee before an infamous bad bounce soured the Owl’ opener.

Things started off well for Rice football in their season opener against Middle Tennessee. The Owls received the opening kick off, marched down the field and took the lead. The Owls defense was able to hold Asher O’Hara at bay early, but the inexperienced secondary was soon under fire as Rice went into halftime trailing 14-13 courtesy of two long O’Hara touchdown passes.

Middle Tennessee hit some deep passes in the second half, but the Rice defense was able to hold their own and keep the team in the game. The Owls were able to claw back from a two-score deficit and get one more crack at the win in the final minutes. Rice took over trailing 31-26 with 2:24 to play.

The Owls went forwards, then they went backward. Then Mike Collins found Austin Trammell up the middle for 48 yards and again for the go-ahead touchdown. Pushed to the brink, Rice rallied to take the lead. MTSU would force overtime where Rice had the chance to win… then this happened:

This stunk. Here’s what we learned.

Mike Collins is a baller

There was a lot of good things said about Rice quarterback Mike Collins as he progressed through the spring and into fall camp. He’s taken command of the offense well and understands the protection schemes and the system. The biggest question mark going into the year was his accuracy, a problem in the spring which had looked better in fall camp.

Collins completed just two of his first 10 passes against Middle Tennessee. A career 56.6 percent passer across 10 games at TCU, Collins ended his Rice debut completing 51.4 percent of his throws. After the woeful start, he completed 16-of-25, ending the day with 242 passing yards and four touchdowns.

The protection was okay, but Collins did take a few big hits. One of them resulted in a strip-sack and a fumble, shifting all the momentum to the visiting team midway through the third quarter. There will be better days ahead for Collins and this passing attack. Today, they looked a bit rusty, but he came through in key situations down the stretch.

Corner quandary

Middle Tennessee didn’t test the young Rice corners very much in the first quarter, but once they did, they didn’t stop. Starters Miles McCord and Sean Fresch were both making their first D1 starts of their career, and for all the encouraging moments, that lack of experience showed.

O’Hara is not a superb deep-ball passer. There’s a reason that most of his balls stay closer to the line of scrimmage. But even he was unafraid to take his shots.

Both of the Blue Raiders’ first half touchdowns were shots from O’Hara to the endzone daring the Owls’ secondary to make a play. Although there were Rice shirts in the vicinity on both plays, neither reception was contested. That can’t happen in the redzone.

Allowing O’Hara to drive the length of the field in 30 seconds to set up a tying field goal was a sore spot as well.

The depth chart is thin and there doesn’t appear to be an immediate answer on the horizon. The corner play simply has to get better. It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Brian Smith adjusts the defense to help minimize the risks on the outside when the Owls take on a much better downfield thrower next week in Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham.

New faces

Injuries and exciting moments in fall camp put several younger players on the top of mind entering the season.

Khalan Griffin didn’t see much involvement until the fourth quarter, but it’s hard to fault the coaching staff for relying heavily on Juma Otoviano. Healthy and running well, Otoviano carried the ball 20 times for 84 yards with a long of 16. He was elusive in the open field and made big plays for this offense.

Griffin’s role will grow and his underutilization on Saturday shouldn’t be viewed as a knock on his ability. One needs look no further than his drive to start the fourth quarter. He got on the field and promptly ripped off two big runs, the first for 10-yard and the second a 20-yard scamper up the middle. He’s going to be a key piece of this offense in 2020 and beyond.

Sean Fresch got introduced to the speed of the college game quickly. As a whole, the corners did not hold up well. He was exposed underneath a few times, but that’s going to happen when the secondary is preoccupied with giving up the long ball. From my memory, and I’ll have to look back at the tape on this one, he wasn’t burned as often down the field as some of the Owls’ other options.

Jake Bailey was perhaps the most impactful youngster. He’s not a freshman, but his role is going to be significantly different in his second season on South Main. Bailey was a favorite target of Collins on Saturday but caught only two passes for 26 yards on five targets. He was also active in the return game, leading the team with 76 kick return yards. His 97 all-purpose yards were second most on the most on the team.

Closing thoughts

Rice football made history when they kicked off against Middle Tennessee on Saturday. Never before had a team opened its season against a team that was playing their seventh game. Getting to this point, in spite of all the challenges presented by COVID-19 was huge for the program. Remember, it was only a month ago that we were wondering whether or not there would be a season at all.

No season might sound palatable after that gut-punch. But Rice football fans should take away two things from this game. First, after all the ups and down, Rice could have, and probably should have won. Be upset. For as far as the Owls have gone, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Second, the fight to rally in the fourth quarter and get to this point was infectious. It’s hard to imagine not paying dividends down the road. Less self-inflicted wounds would have enabled Rice to finish things off. That said, the road will get tougher. The Owls won’t be playing a 1-5 Middle Tennessee team every week.

Digging deeper

Every week we’ll have a stat, storyline or key learning from the game reserved for our subscribers.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: Most impressive freshman performances of fall camp

By

The 2020 Rice football freshman class has impressed throughout fall camp. This weekend they’ll have their first opportunities to do it in a collegiate game.

Rice football has wrapped up fall camp. They’ll take the field on Saturday against Middle Tennessee. Players like Austin Trammell and Blaze Alldredge have been as impressive as ever in practices, but neither of those performances comes as much of a surprise.

Beyond assessing such proven commodities, this time of year is sometimes better spent looking for who might be the next wave of playmakers on the rise.

Practice updates reserved for subscribers. Sign in to see this content or visit our Patreon page.

Here are a few freshmen who’ve impressed me and earned accolades directly from the coaching staff during camp. They’ll see varying degrees of involvement this weekend, but each guy has the potential to be an important piece on this roster in the weeks and years to come.

RB Khalan Griffin

Last fall Khalan Griffin suffered a lower-body injury that prematurely ended his senior season. He arrived at South Main buried on the depth chart behind the likes of Juma Otoviano, Jawan King, Cam Montgomery and Ari Broussard. Injuries opened the door for him to get some time with the first team offense. He kicked that door down … and then kept running.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

The Roost Podcast | Ep 57 – Rice Football vs MTSU Game Preview

By

Rice football returns to the gridiron this week! The Owls’ host Middle Tennessee in their 2020 season opener. Carter and Matthew break down the matchup.

The extended offseason is over and it’s game week. For the first time this fall, we recorded a game preview. From the X’s and O’s and how Rice football matches up with Middle Tennessee to the crucial must-do’s to pull out a win, Carter and Matthew covered it all.

It wasn’t all game news, though. Injuries remain a focal point of the hand Rice has been dealt so far. The first depth chart is missing some key names and the Owls are going to have to start the season with some thin spots in the secondary and at wide receiver.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 57.

Episode 57 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Don’t miss this opportunity to subscribe on Patreon. You’ll get practice reports, recruiting news and the latest analysis and updates on all things relating to Rice Athletics.
    Become a Patron!
  • Conference USA news and notes
  • Rice Football news and notes
    • Rice names captains: Alldredge, Grammer, Trammell, Myers, Riddle
    • ESPN FPI likes the Owls
    • First depth chart released: key takeaways
  • Rice Football vs Middle Tennessee game preview
    • What to look for when Middle Tennessee has the ball
    • Asher O’Hara’s struggles under pressure
    • What to look for when Rice has the ball
    • How the Owls can attack an aggressive, but porous Blue Raider defense

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football Film Room 2020: Middle Tennessee Preview

By

The Rice Football Film Room is back for 2020! And, thanks to the weirdness of the 2020 season, we have actual game tape of Middle Tennessee.

When Middle Tennessee comes to Houston on Saturday they’ll be taking the field for their seventh game of the 2020 season. Rice football will, of course, be kicking off for the very first time. A slight benefit of this peculiar circumstance is the amount of game tape available on Middle Tennessee. We’ve got quite a bit of it. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Film rooms reserved for subscribers. Sign in to see this content or visit our Patreon page.

Just like last year, junior quarterback Asher O’Hara is the heart and soul of the Blue Raiders’ offense. There had been hope among the MTSU fanbase that the offense would diversify a bit this year to take some of the playmaking pressure off O’Hara.

Running backs Chaton Mobley and Jayy McDonald have both impressed in their carries thus far, but they’ve combined for 75 carries in the team’s six games, compared to a whopping 102 non-sack rushes for O’Hara. And even with a brief benching earlier in the season, he still accounts for 188 of their 210 pass attempts.

O’Hara is an effective runner if not an explosive one. He averages 4.8 yards per carry minus the sacks, but with a long of only 31 yards. What he lacks in straight-line speed, he makes up for in elusiveness, juking and spinning his way to extra yardage to move the chains. He’s unfortunately not taken the extra step as a passer this year, averaging only 6.3 yards per attempt, with 8 interceptions to only 9 touchdowns.

Key 1: Getting Pressure on the MTSU Offense

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts